Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-06-27
Our RaiIw ay Development.

Our Railw ay Development.
Marvellous is the progress of Southern
California beyond anything in the his
tory of this marvelously progressive
era and of the American nation, which
il in all material progress the very flower
and fruit of the age. In nothing is this
more noticeable than in the great efforts
now making to extend the railroad lines
of this section, and TO increase their
facilities for business. This city will OF
course remain forever the center OF all
this magnificent business. and no rival
can by any possibility rob her OF the
advantages of her imperial position in
this respect. Il has been stated, we be-
.heve, on the authority of Mr.. q. W..
Smith. that at the end OF three years
from the beginning of the present era,
the Atchison, Topeka L Santa Fe sys-
tenn would be operating no less than
three thousand miles of road in the three
counties of San Diego, San Bernardino
and Los Angeles, and that ne centre OF
this system would be in the city OF
Los Angeles. Certainly the rate at
which the corporation referred to
is building now, and the extent
of their plans as made
public, would indicate that no less con.
50 nation may be looked for. This act
iyitv in construction and the millions it
rep resents are the exponent of the esti-
m ates these Boston capitalists, as shrewd
operators as thereare in the country, put
upo the future of this section. Let 1t be
rem tmbered that " hen this line OF pro-
eress was initiated, the Santa Fe sys-
tenn had rot the interest of one dollar IN
this pert of the Union. But that is moi
all. The managers of this read, moi
satisfied with securing single line oi
travel to this city, are reaching out for
duplicate route, one by way OF the Sar
Ga briel valley, and the other via the
Santa Ana csnon, and Anaheim. The
o officiaIs say they do not mean to have
the ir traffic with Les Angeles interrupted
by any accident. They wish to be il
such position, that if bridge is lost
n one route, there will be recourse tc
the other line. There is the same anx'
iety to secure uninterrupted intercourse
with the city of San Diego
by the present lire. the California
Southern, supplemented by the new
line via San Juan Capistrano and the
sea coast. From their trunk lines the
Sa nta Fe people are making network
of roads into oil the subdivisions of the
ma gnificent valley usually known under
the general name of Los Angeles.
Furthermore, there is no stone being
left unturned to secure the most direct
and feasable routes to reach the City oi
Los Angeles. 1t is very distinctly inti-
mated by those who should be well in.
forme d in this matter that the present
road from Monrovia, via Pasadena, will
ere long be used as very important
local line, and cutoff be built from
is side of the San Gabriel river di'
rect to Los Angeles, SO as to shorten the
distance for through trains, and
at the same time avoid the two
heavy grades on the present
line. All this certainly looks
as if these experienced men at the head
of this great corporation had an abiding
faith of the liveliest character in the
future of Southern California.
Nor does the other line, the Southern
Pac ific intend to rest on its oars of pres.
ent achievement as regards the business
of his section. The managers OF that
70 ad have paid Los Angeles and it's en-
v irons numerous visits IN the past siS
months, and their tours of inspection are
known to have been made with direct
referen ce to great enlargement of their
business at all points in Southern Cali
fornis. Among the representatives OF
this corporation to visit this part of the
State in this connection recently was
Senator Stanford, who made his visit ex.
tend to all points of the section. His
inspection of the territory was most min.
ute and careful.
Nor need there be any wonder at this.
So greatly has the business of the road
increased of late, that the
freight depot here has had to be
enlarged until an area nine hundred feet
long by forty to fifty feet in width is
now covered by one roof under which
the multiform and immense business is
transacted Although there are none of
the large sections of our valley not al
ready reached by the Southern Pacific
tracks, there may be expected in the
near future very material increase of
its branch lines.
Those not thoroughly conversant with
the situation Of this city, nor with it's
matchless surroundings, cannot under
stand the reasons underlying all this
unprecedented effort on the part Of two
giant railroad corporations to gridiron
the surface Of South California with